Passage Read: Psalm 63-66
Meditation Verses: 66:10-13
Thought
It is God who tests us or allows us to be tested. He is responsible. He doesn't deny that in Job's case. He won't deny that in my case either. He designs the tests and whether He executes them Himself or through another, He watches for the results. He has His plans to bless those who prove faithful and righteous, or to rebuke those who prove faithless. He allows humiliation and pain and grief to see what is in our hearts, to reveal it to us and to whomever else is watching. But if we prove faithful, then we will be rewarded with great things, with great comfort, and our right response should be to praise Him.
Application
I can trust the Lord to take me through hard times, knowing He desires to test me and reward me if I prove faithful. If not, He will correct me and give me another chance. Am I willing to be tested and refined? Or will I grow bitter at the hard tests He sends my way? That is the real question. Do I want to know Him better and serve Him better? Or do I expect Him to be satisfied with whatever I choose to give Him? If I have a heart of humility and willingness to be tested, then I don't need to make vows to try to get free of the trials--it's not wrong to do so--but I can trust that He will bring me out when He is ready, when I've passed the test. The thought of another trial scares me. I haven't even suffered as much as Paul or Job or even Jesus. And the thought of another test like the kind I have endured shakes me. But if it is necessary, let me prove faithful through the next test.